Brazilian Bookends
More often than not, vintage mid-century Brazilian furniture designs, with their gleaming wood, soft leathers and inviting shapes, share a sensuous, unique quality that distinguishes them from the more rectilinear output of American and Scandinavian makers of the same era.
Commencing in the 1940s and '50s, a group of architects and designers transformed the local cultural landscape in Brazil, merging the modernist vernacular popular in Europe and the United States with the South American country's traditional techniques and indigenous materials.
Key mid-century influencers on Brazilian furniture design include natives Oscar Niemeyer, Sergio Rodrigues and José Zanine Caldas as well as such European immigrants as Joaquim Tenreiro, Jean Gillon and Jorge Zalszupin. These creators frequently collaborated; for instance, Niemeyer, an internationally acclaimed architect, commissioned many of them to furnish his residential and institutional buildings.
The popularity of Brazilian modern furniture has made household names of these designers and other greats. Their particular brand of modernism is characterized by an émigré point of view (some were Lithuanian, German, Polish, Ukrainian, Portuguese, and Italian), a preference for highly figured indigenous Brazilian woods, a reverence for nature as an inspiration and an atelier or small-production mentality.
Hallmarks of Brazilian mid-century design include smooth, sculptural forms and the use of native woods like rosewood, jacaranda and pequi. The work of designers today exhibits many of the same qualities, though with a marked interest in exploring new materials (witness the Campana Brothers' stuffed-animal chairs) and an emphasis on looking inward rather than to other countries for inspiration.
Find a collection of vintage Brazilian furniture on 1stDibs that includes chairs, sofas, tables and more.
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Bookends
Jacaranda
2010s Organic Modern Brazilian Bookends
Agate, Quartz
2010s Modern Brazilian Bookends
Bronze
2010s Modern Brazilian Bookends
Bronze
2010s Modern Brazilian Bookends
Onyx, Bronze
2010s Modern Brazilian Bookends
Onyx, Bronze
Late 20th Century Organic Modern Brazilian Bookends
Agate, Onyx
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Brazilian Bookends
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Brazilian Bookends
Steel
1920s Art Deco Vintage Brazilian Bookends
Marble, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Brazilian Bookends
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Brazilian Bookends
Steel
2010s Classical Greek Brazilian Bookends
Statuary Marble
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Bookends
Brass
1950s Hollywood Regency Vintage Brazilian Bookends
Brass
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Bookends
Ceramic
1930s Art Nouveau Vintage Brazilian Bookends
Iron
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Bookends
Composition
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Bookends
Marble
15th Century and Earlier Organic Modern Antique Brazilian Bookends
Quartz, Agate, Amethyst, Crystal
Late 20th Century Bohemian Brazilian Bookends
Agate
Late 20th Century Organic Modern Brazilian Bookends
Agate, Onyx
Mid-20th Century Brazilian Bookends
Agate
1970s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Bookends
Marble
20th Century Modern Brazilian Bookends
Amethyst
2010s Organic Modern Brazilian Bookends
Agate, Quartz, Rock Crystal
2010s Organic Modern Brazilian Bookends
Agate, Quartz, Rock Crystal
2010s Organic Modern Brazilian Bookends
Agate, Crystal
2010s Organic Modern Brazilian Bookends
Agate, Crystal
2010s Organic Modern Brazilian Bookends
Agate, Quartz, Rock Crystal
2010s Organic Modern Brazilian Bookends
Agate, Quartz, Rock Crystal